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ACTIVISM IN ART

EXHIBITION STATEMENT

To many viewers, art is simply something to pleasure the eye. But behind the beautiful paintings and the meticulous sculptures is a deeper and more acroamatic purpose that Activism in Art aims to

discover which is art’s overall ability to produce change. The exhibition will take place at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. It will

feature five contemporary artist: Tania Bruguera, Marina DeBris, Mary Mattingly, Liz Magic Laser, and Barbara Kruger. These women have made extensive progress in not only bringing awareness to modern issues ranging from political, social and environment concerns as a

result of society’s capitalistic tendencies but have also made personal and effortful contributions to creating change for these issues.

VENUE: PIEDMONT PARK 
 ATLANTA, GA

Activism in Art will take place in Piedmont Park. The location was specifically chosen to accommodate for the exhibition itself. Piedmont Park is a large outdoor area located in midtown of Atlanta, Georgia. Its central location will allow for it to reach a wide variety of viewers in a public space, compared to private location., which coincides with the

exhibition goal of enforcing activism. Atlanta specifically is a huge metropolitan city that will allow for the expansion of viewers with views that

relate to many of the issues that are addressed within the exhibition.

EXHIBITION MAP

1 2

3 4

5

The Meadow

Mayor’s Grove

Atlanta Botanical

Magnolia Hall

The Northwoods

1.Tania Bruguera 2.Marina DeBris 3.Mary Mattingly 4.Liz Magic Laser 5.Barbara Kruger

Piedmont Park Map. Piedmont Park Conservancy https://www.piedmontpark.org/maps/

TANIA BRUGUERA

Tania Bruguera is an artist whose works are politically motivated, and she is deeply engaged with her work by pushing it onto many institutions and individuals. Her inspiration stems from her childhood, as Bruguera is Havana, Cuba native who was raised in the age of Fidel Castro’s communist government. She stands

strong in her condemnation of political oppression and this is modeled throughout all of her work. In fact, she herself prefers to call herself an “initiator” rather than

an author.

DISPLACEMENT BY 
 TANIA BRUGUERA

Now featured on display, this piece of work designed and created is a body suit made of mud and nails that was actually worn by Bruguera amongst the streets of central Philadelphia. She initially portrayed this 19 years ago in Havana at a citizen demonstration that was protesting against Fidel Castro and his government. The suit easily brings shock value to any viewer, as Bruguera successfully is able to bring attention and awareness to oppressed migrant groups and those under corrupt government control.

Displacement Cuban mud and nails 78 x 32 x 24 in 1998-2003 https://www.phillips.com/detail/ tania-bruguera/NY010515/1

MARINA DEBRIS

Marina DeBris is a graphic designer who uses her talents to reflect on issues concerning the

environment and more specifically the negative impact of human waste on the ocean. Living in Australia, her passion for ocean conservation and clean up is rooted in her country and her

want to conserve its beauty. She takes a unique approach to her work by using recycled trash and transforming it to become fashion pieces, overall

showing the parallels of the beauty of fashion and the dark side of consumerism and its effects

on our environment.

WHITE TRASH BY 
 MARINA DEBRIS

• DeBris coined the term “Trashion” (trash-fashion) to many of her works, in which she collects trash and other unbelonging

items in the ocean that she has found at trash pickups at beaches and models them on individuals . By doing this,

DeBris is able to physically show to the public the things that unfortunately do end up in our oceans. By portraying it as

“fashion”, DeBris portrays a dichotomy between the beauty and the ugly of the reality of how humans as a whole are treating one of the most essential ecosystems. By using pieces of trash that she has gone and picked up as the

medium for her art, she contributes not only to the activism behind environmental restoration and conservation but can

even furthered conveyed messages about recycling and reusing in the same context.

White Trash Cigarette lighters, straws, plastic utensils, bottle caps Modeled by Kat Jones 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/ 2016/sep/13/trashion-designer-marina-debris-turns- ocean-rubbish-into-high-end-outfits-in-pictures

MARY MATTINGLY

Mary Mattingly is a conceptual visual artist. Her work is focused in on

environmental activism and education, and instead of just bringing

awareness to the issues within our environment, she goes above and beyond to force viewers to see the

reality of environmental damages and effects. Specifically,, she focuses her

works to frame a future dystopian world where humans are forced to live

sustainably. Many of her works are located throughout different exhibits

and locations in New York

INFLATABLE HOME BY MARY MATTINGLY

Much of Mattingly’s work is focused on how our society could function in the modern world with the bare minimum. Aspects of design revolved

around environmental sustainability can be seen in many of her works, and this piece is no limit to

that. This photo shows a women who has just washed up on shore with an inflatable home

attached to her back, presenting the idea that she was living on the ocean in this home. She depicts the viewers what our future world may look like if we continue to ignore the effects of climate change and disregard the planet, but

also presents solutions to the consequences that may ensue.

Inflatable Home Chromogenic dye coupler print 30” x 40’ 2008 https://www.artworksforchange.org/ portfolio/mary-mattingly/

LIZ MAGIC LASER

Liz Magic Laser has a particularly unique approach to her artwork and design. Laser is diverse in her work, as it consists of not only physical sculpture and installation, but

also video and performance. Her work aims to disembody different modes of

power: ranging from power on a political level to power on a social level and all in between. She is based in the hustling and bustling city of New York

which gives her optimal location for her work, as she is known for her use of

public spaces to stage her performances and she often engages the audience around her to participate

as well.

CHASE BY 
 LIZ MAGIC LASER

Chase Performance and Video Installation Actors include Anika Boras, Andra Eggleston, Gary Lai, Liz Micek, Justin Sayre, Doug Walter, Michael Wiener, Max Woertendyke and Cat Yezbak. 2009-10 https://lizmagiclaser.com/chase/

In Chase, Laser takes on the role of directing a modern reformation of the 1926 play Man Equals Man, which is an allegory of capitalist greed and

militarism. The actors, many of which dressed up in military uniform, went different banks throughout

New York City (hence the name Chase) and acted out scenes of the play. The overall message of this

portion of the exhibition connects the capitalist attitude of the 1920’s to the much more recent

financial crisis of 2008 in which our country plummeted into a serious recession. Laser was

dedicated to forcing her message to the public as many times she was kicked out banks just to

relocate and repeat the play in a bank down the block (5). By going into banks, which are the most

direct beneficiary/producer of the capitalist attitudes she is denouncing, Laser is able to reach out and

have an impact on the actual source of concern. Her activism is literally seen in the creation of her work,

the message coinciding with the production.

BARBARA KRUGER

Barbara Kruger is a successful graphic designer who focuses most of her work on feminism, consumerism, and individual

autonomy within society, Focusing on her pro-feminism attitudes, she more specifically approaches the topic of how much women are the subject of abusive control. She is striking and bold in the name of

work,, relaying intense messages and phrases that often are

controversial, but overall her brave audacity has allowed her to

become world renowned in her practice.

YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND 
 BY BARBARA KRUGER

The graphic design titled Your Body is a Battleground is a prime demonstration of her stance of issues regarding women’s rights and the pro-choice movement. The work is a graphic photo in which a model’s face is portrayed blown up and divided in the

middle. On one side is the original positive image of the model’s face and the other side is the face negative. Also dividing the photo from top to bottom are the words “your body” (on top) is

(middle) a battleground (bottom). The positive to negative division symbolizes Kruger’s critique of typically standards to

beauty. The top to bottom division puts emphasis on each part of the slogan: your body meaning it is belonging to you and a

battlefield showing the struggle of womanhood.

Your Body is a Battleground Photographic silkscreen on vinyl 112 x 112 in. 1989 https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled- your-body-battleground

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bruguera , Tania. Displacement. 1998. Phillips . https://www.phillips.com/detail/tania-bruguera/ NY010515/1. 

• Bruguera, Tania, Paul O'Neill, Xavier Acarin, Kathleen Ditzig, Amber Esseiva, Roxana Fabius, Lee Foley, Wang Jing, Elizabeth Larison, Robin Lynch, Park Myers, and Natalia Zuluaga. "Tania Bruguera." BOMB, no. 128 (2014): 124-33. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/24365902.

• DeBris, Marina. 2016. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/ sep/13/trashion-designer-marina-debris-turns-ocean-rubbish-into-high-end-outfits-in-pictures. 

• DeBris, Marina. 2017. “The Waste We Create Comes Back to Haunt Us.” International Gallerie 20 (1): 94-101 http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=asu&AN=128108371&site=ehost-live

• Diaz, Eva. “Ecofeminist World Building” Aperture, no. 234 (Spring 2019): 36-43 http://evadiaz.net/ wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Diaz_Earth.pdf 

• Keefer, Angie, and Liz Magic Laser. "Angie Keefer and Liz Magic Laser." BOMB, no. 138 (2016): 76-86. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26355505.

• Kruger, Barbara. Your Body Is a Battleground . The Broad. Accessed November 2, 2020. https:// www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground. 

• Laser, Liz Magic. Chase. 2009. Liz Magic Laser. https://lizmagiclaser.com/chase/. 

• “Liz Magic Laser's Guerrilla Theater.” Art21. Art 21. Accessed October 19, 2020. https://art21.org/ watch/new-york-close-up/liz-magic-lasers-guerrilla-theater/

• Mattingly, Mary. Inflatable Home. 2008. https://www.artworksforchange.org/portfolio/mary- mattingly/. 

• Mitchell, W. J. T., and Barbara Kruger. "An Interview with Barbara Kruger." Critical Inquiry 17, no. 2 (1991): 434-48. Accessed September 21, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343844

• Piedmont Park Map. Piedmont Park Conservancy. Accessed November 2, 2020. https:// www.piedmontpark.org/maps/. 

• “Tania Bruguera.” Art21. Art 21. Accessed October 19, 2020. https://art21.org/artist/tania- bruguera/. 

• The Broad, ed. “Barbara Kruger - Bio: The Broad.” Accessed October 19, 2020. https:// www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger

BIBLIOGRAPHY CONT.